Improvement in shaft-attachment to wagons



W., WARD.

I Thill Coupling. No. 77,687. Patented May 5, 1868.

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WALTER wARD ,"oE MOUNT HOLLY, NEW JERSEY.

Letters Patent No. 77.687, dated M'ag 5,1868.

.IMPROVEMENT IN SHAFT-ATTACHMENT T0 WAGONS.

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"to ALL WHOM; IT MAY OONOERNz' Be itknown that I, WALTERWARD, of MountHolly, in the county of Burlington, and State of New Jen soy, haveinvented certain newand useful Improvements in Shaft-AttachmentsforWagons, &c.; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full,clear, and exact description of the some, reference being had to theaccomw panying drawings, making apart ofthis specification, ir1' which IFigure 1 represents the three members or pieces which constitute, whenput together, the device for fastening a shaft or thills to' a carriage,wagon, 85c.

Figure2 represents an edge view of the same, and

Figure 3 represents a section taken at the red line a: :2: of fig. 1.

Similaruletters'of reference, where they occur in the separate figures,denote like parts of the shaft.

connection in all of the drawings.

' The bolts that unite carriageshafts to the axle, or other parts of thevehicle, are apt, by the jar and use,

to be shaken out, and frequently cause serious accidents, by'thefrightening of the horse or team, caused. by the droppingof the shaft orthills, or the failure of the loosened shafts to guide the carriage.Many devices have been essa yed to prevent these shaft-bolts fromdropping out, and the casualties contingent thereon, butnone of themhave been sufliciently simple and ellective to go into common use. 1

Myinvention consistsin a divided or sectional plate or bar for holdingthe shaft-bar, which is so made as to embrace and hold the pivots orboltin closed sockets or bearings, said plate having overlappingportions orlocking-joints, that, when held together by an ordinary screwor rivet, makes itimnossihle for the shaft to become detached therefrom.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, Iwillproceed to describe the same with reference to the drawings. v

A may represent the shaft-iron or bar, which may have itsjournals, B,castin it, if made of cast (malleable) ironjor which nray be forged in,if made of wrought iron. It is not necessary, however, that the journalsshould be fast'in, or made a part ofthcbar or iron, A, for it may besimply a pin or bolt slipped loosely through'an ey'e made in theshaft-iron. Either plan will answer the purpose, and still prevent theshaft-fastening from becom-- ing loose. I p i O D are the two'parts,which, when put together, and fastening by a screw or rivet, hold theshaft-iron so thatit cannot get loose therefrom, but can freely turn ormove therein, as follows:

a is a reces's'in the part 0, and bis a recess in the part D. 'These tworecesses, which are closed at their bottom, receive the journals orshaft-bolt B when slipped up together. On the part G there is a recess,0, from which projects an angular recess, dnvhilst the after portion, f,of this recess is cut away, as shown in the drawings. The piece D fitsinto the recess a, and its projection, 0, takes into the angular recess(2', and a projection,"

g, at its rear, occupies the cut-away portion atf.

When the two parts are thusput together, withtheir overlapped orinterlocked parts thus arranged, a screw orrivet passed through theholes 1, z in said plates unites the whole firmly together.

The pieces D C may be of malleable cast iron, and thus very cheaplymade.

are the holes by which theehaft-coupling maybe attached to the carriage,and by carriage I mean any vehicle, conveyance, or machine drawn byhorses, or wherein shafts, or thills, or a tongue is used.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I- claimtherein'as new,and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-- I v I 1 Acarringe-shaft orthill-conneetion'or coupling, made of the pieces A, B, O, D, interlockedor breaking 'joint with each other, and firmly united, so that the shaftor thills cannot become detached. substantially as herein described andrepresente v WALTER WARD.v Witnesses:

PHILIP F. SLACK, Gno. T. SLACK.

